At All Costs
At All Costs is the fourth episode of Season 3, and overall the twenty fourth episode of Falling Skies. It was written by Robert Rodat and Heather V. Regnier. It was directed by Greg Beeman. It first aired on TNT June 23rd, 2013. It drew 3.55 million US viewers. Plot Synopsis After the people of Charleston defeat another alien attack with the help of new advanced weaponry, Tom is invited to meet with a powerful leader. Plot It begins with a major battle between humans, Mechs, and Skitters. Hal, Maggie, Ben, Denny, Lyle, Tector, and Pope are involved. Tom takes Lt. Fisher to watch the battle, she sees the humans winning the battle as the Volm use highly advanced weaponry to push back the Espheni. Tom hopes to convince her that the alliance with the Volm is a good idea. Anne is getting a swab of baby Lexi’s saliva to conduct DNA tests. Anne hesitates, unsure of her distrust of her baby. “I love you, Lexi,” she says. We hear the new born baby reply, “I love you too, mommy.” Either Anne is going crazy or the baby is definitely part-alien. In Tom’s office, Fisher tells Tom she is impressed by what his troops can do with the help of the Volm. She wants to get in touch with President Hathaway via short-wave radio. She is able to get through to the President and Tom briefs him on what they have done lately. Hathaway suggests they have a face-to-face meeting but the only way to get to the meeting is to use an airplane owned by Pope, but the only way they'll use the plane is if Pope gets to go along to protect his property. The plane will carry Tom, Pope, Gen. Bressler (who is a pilot), and the Volm leader Cochise. Weaver and Marina will cover for Tom to make it look like he's still in Charleston so the mole wont catch onto the plan, Tom and Anne say goodbye to each other as she gives him a med-pack made by Lourdes. Meanwhile Ben is trying to decide if he is going to let the surgeons remove his “spikes” that are left over from when he was “harnessed” to the skitters with the Volm de-harnessing machine. He is reluctant because the spikes give him enhanced strength and other abilities, though they may also be slowly killing him. Anne goes to visit Dr. Kadar to see if he can devise some special DNA tests to see if the Volm de-harnessing machine is accurately removing all the alien DNA from the hosts, but is really trying to find a test that can determine if Lexie has any alien DNA. Tom and the others arrive at the secret rendezvous with Pres. Hathaway, the military under Hathaway’s command get really angry when they see Cochise. But, before they can act, Hathaway comes out and orders them to stand down. He explains that he cannot take any chances with an alien and orders his men to keep Cochise under guard while he speaks with Tom. Tom does not like it, but Cochise says it is ok. Hathaway explains that he has been able to communicate with small groups of resistance fighters. He is not yet convinced that they can trust the Volm. Tom explains that for seven months he has fought alongside the Volm and are making progress, which is better than what other resistance groups are saying. Hathaway goes to speak to Cochise himself. He asks why the Volm are helping the humans, Cochise relays a story about his home world and a flower that grows there. He explains that though he will never see his homeworld, he hopes that someday the war with the Espheni will end and his children’s children will see it. Hathaway seems impressed. Back in Charleston, Ben has decided that he wants to keep his spikes, even if it might kill him in just a few years. Meanwhile, Hal is having conversations with himself in the mirror as he wrestles with the reality that he might unwittingly be the mole for the Espheni. At the end of the conversation, it appears that his alter-ego has taken control of Hal. Col. Weaver is on the short-wave radio with Tom. Tom explains that he and Cochise are going to stay with Pres. Hathaway for a while in an effort to convince more and more people that the Volm are the good guys. He gets to spend a few moments speaking to Anne and tells her he wishes he could be with her. She says she understands, but privately seems upset. She will have to deal with the seemingly alien-baby on her own. Alt-Hal is firmly in control. He tells Maggie he has no plans to tell anyone about his nightmares about working as Karen’s spy. Dr. Kadar tells Anne about the DNA tests, all the samples look 100% human except one that has alien DNA running through it. She looks horrified as Dr. Kadar guesses correctly that the DNA comes from Lexi. He wants to tell everyone about what he has found, but Anne hits him over the head with a metal wrench first. She runs off with Lexi’s sample. Anne goes back to her room, where Lourdes has been taking care of Lexi. Anne spikes Lourdes’ drink to knock her out and Anne runs off with her baby. Tom and President Hathaway are talking when they are informed that Espheni aircraft are approaching. Everyone needs to escape and fast, despite Tom’s protests, Hathaway takes Cochise with him. Anne and Lexi have fled Charleston and a Skitter and a harnessed child corner them, Alt-Hal is there too and the harnessed child acts like she knows Lexi already. As Tom, Pope, and Gen. Bressler are flying away from Hathaway’s camp, the Espheni attack. They manage to shoot down Hathaway's plane and knock out one of their plane’s engines and it crashes in the forest. Other Cast Co-Starring *Luvia Petersen as First Lieutenant Katherine Fisher *Michael Hogan as Gerald Donovan *Nikolas Filipovic as Markley *Alissa Skovbye as Emily *Lilli Clark as Radio Operator *Sylvesta Stuart as Soldier *Nneka Croal as Nurse *Sean Michael Kyer as Tommy Uncredited * Jon Johnson as Jon * D Harlan Cutshall as Butterfield * Nico Amoroso as Nico * Zack Daniels as Zack * Aaron Harrison as Jimmy Vegas * Andrey Ivchenko as Schlatter Deaths *Jimmy Vegas *Cyrus Ruskin *Katherine Fisher *Gerald Donovan Signficant Events *The Resistance fends off the attack that began in the last episode. *Tom, Pope, Bressler, and Cochise meet with President Hathaway and his staff. Cochise reveals his motivation for fighting this war which impresses Hathaway. *Both planes are shot down, the fate of the passengers on both will be revealed in the next episode. *Anne's investigate of Alexis' advanced behavior comes to a head. It is finally revealed that Alexis' DNA is mixed with alien DNA. *It is revealed to Ben, Denny, and the other ex-harnessed children that they can have their spikes removed. Because it would mean losing their abilities, Ben and Denny decide not to go through with it. *Evil Hal, Hal's split personality resulting from his Eye Worm is introduced. *Anne's escape and subsequent capture are a major plot point for the rest of Season 3. Tom's History Lessons While trying to give Ben advice on whether to keep his spikes or not Matt refers to Bernard Baruch one of F.D.R.'s advisors. Pres. Hathaway refers to the Pony Express Outside References *Pope refers to his plane as a 1935 Beechcraft. The plane however greatly resembles a Beechcraft Model 18 which was introduced in 1937. *Ben and Denny point out the Summer Triangle, with Ben pointing out the names: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Ben also points out the binary star Albireo. Category:Season 3 Category:Episodes Category:Season 3 Episodes